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Gastonia, North Carolina

Gastonia, North Carolina is the county seat of Gaston County. It is a satellite city of Charlotte and part of the Charlotte metropolitan statistical area.

In general, the city has experienced steady growth. However, in the last decade shutdowns and job losses have hit the city. In 2010, the city had an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

Parkdale Mills has its international corporate headquarters in the city. The company closed plants and moved production to other countries. Parkdale is the number one manufacturer of spun yarn in the world.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the City Hospital / Gaston Memorial Hospital, Gastonia High School, the Third National Bank Building, and several other sites in Gastonia, NC. You can get information about STDs, testing, and treatment at Gaston Memorial Hospital, Gastonia High School, and other locations in the area as we will see.

STD Statistics In Gaston County, NC

Population

STD Cases

STD Rate

STD Breakdown

Statistics reported is based on publicly available data sources such as CDC for Gaston County, NC. Data is normalized to accurately report Gaston County STD Breakdown.

Additional STD Test Statistics in Gastonia, NC

When it comes to STDs like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, your area has one of the highest occurrence rates in the country. According to the Health Department, the rate of gonorrhea cases increased 15% between 2011 and 2015.

Unfortunately, chlamydia and syphilis are also steadily increasing. The area reported 763 new cases of chlamydia in 2015 and up 628 from a previous year. The numbers for syphilis have more than doubled going from 11 new cases to 24 new cases per 100,000 people.

The state ranks third in the highest rate per capita of STDs according the CDC. Some of the blame can go to dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr but we do not know for sure all of the reasons.

Tinder launched in 2012. By 2015 chlamydia rates went from 519 to 541.

Gonorrhea rates went from 146 to 170. Syphilis rates went from 3 to 11. This is per 100,000 people. Here are rates for Gaston County.

Number of Chlamydia Cases (2015, all ages): 1,154

Number of Gonorrhea Cases (2015, all ages): 299

Number of HIV Reports (2015, all ages): 31

The total numbers of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases are useful indicators of adolescent sexual health as they are most common among young people ages 15 to 24. HIV reports are notable because youth ages 13 to 24 account for more than 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses in the United States.

Let’s consider that teen pregnancy rates in Gaston County show that rates have gone down by 45 percent from 2010 to 2015. This decrease is a good thing as teen pregnancy can be associated with higher rates of poverty.

STD Testing and Sexual Education in Gastonia, NC

The board of education for Gaston County is committed to a sound, comprehensive health education program that provides students with accurate information and encourages them to be responsible for their own health and behavior. The board recognizes the primary role of parents in providing for the health and well-being of their children and seeks to involve parents as provided in this policy.

The comprehensive health education program provided by the school system must meet the requirements of aligned state-adopted standards. A comprehensive health education program must be taught to students from kindergarten through ninth grade.

As required by law, the health education program must include age-appropriate instruction to includes prevention of STDs including HIV/AIDs and other communicable diseases and reproductive health and safety education. Beginning in seventh grade, reproductive health and safety education includes age-appropriate instruction on sexual abstinence until marriage, STDs, and effective contraceptive methods for preventing pregnancy.

Each year before students participate in reproductive health and safety education the principal or designee must notify parents of the opportunity to review the materials.This includes other instruction on the prevention of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, or the avoidance of out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

The principal or designee must also notify parents of the right to withhold or withdraw consent for their child’s participation in all reproductive health and safety education instruction or in specific topics such as STDs. Parents may also withhold consent to student participation in other separate instruction on the prevention of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, or the avoidance of out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Demographics in Gastonia, NC

According to a recent census, the city has a racial makeup of 66 percent white, 31 percent African American, and 1 percent Hispanic/Latino. The median income was $23,824. Living below the poverty line were 18 percent of families and 21 percent of the population.

The federal government and North Carolina health department accumulate data about STDs and the HIV epidemic in the state of North Carolina and your location. Concerning HIV here are some demographics to note.

The largest age group living with HIV in North Carolina as of 2010 were 45 to 54 years old.

About 7,000 women were living with HIV in North Carolina as of 2010.

Of the 24,476 cases of HIV living in NC in 2010, 6,414 were among white people.

Black women were living in with an HIV diagnosis at 13.9 times the rate of white women in NC in 2010.

Individuals in the 20-29 age bracket had the highest rates of newly diagnosed HIV in 2015, making up 40.0% of the newly diagnosed cases.

Rates were highest among African American men and men who have sex with men.

Concerning syphilis in North Carolina we see these demographic trends.

The highest rates were found among people between 20 to 24 years old.

African American men also showed the highest rates of early syphilis, comprising 54.5% of total statewide cases in 2015.

Concerning gonorrhea here are some demographics about North Carolina.

Gonorrhea rates were concentrated among similar demographic groups.

Diagnoses among men increased 22.8% from 2014 to 2015.

African Americans had the highest rates, comprising 54.6% of total statewide cases.

Concerning chlamydia here are some demographics about North Carolina.

In 2015, Chlamydia rates were highest in 20-24 and 15-19 age brackets.

This was also the true for reports among women.

African Americans had the highest chlamydia rates, comprising 37.8% of the total statewide cases.

STI Testing Resources in Gastonia, NC

There are several resources available to you in your city when it comes to STI testing. One resource is the Gaston County Health Department.

HIV and STD testing is performed daily at the Health Department and Highland Health Center. A 15-minute screening test called Fast-Track is available to those who qualify. The Fast-Track includes testing for the following diseases:

Chlamydia

Gonorrhea

Hepatitis C

Syphilis

Concerning the HIV Gaston County HIV Program, patients are usually seen within one business day. Call to make an appointment at one of the participating locations.

The Gaston HIV Outreach Program provides confidential testing and educational programs in community settings. It offers counselling and rapid HIV testing in additional to traditional testing. NextCare Urgent Care is another resource that can help. This can be a good option if you are embarrassed about going to an STD clinic or standing in line at a facility such as Planned Parenthood. No one will know why you are at an urgent care center.

STD Check Gastonia STD Testing can also help. With this service you can take STD test frequently and routinely as needed. You order tests online or by phone. The service provides what they call a groundbreaking HIV RNA test. The test can detect HIV in the blood from nine to eleven days after exposure with definitive results. You order the test online or over the phone.

Then you visit a test center and test in less than five minutes. Then you get results. You get test results in one to two business days. The Better Business Rating for the group is A plus.

The service notes you get no embarrassing questions when you arrive for your test. The service has a 10 test panel for STDs including hepatitis A.

Your monthly statement charges for services appear so that your privacy is preserved. The privacy guidelines that protect your information at the doctor’s office are the same ones this service uses to safeguard your personal information, including the HIPAA Privacy Rule. All of the labs used test for many conditions that do not relate to STDs so your reason for visiting the test center is not known.

The nearest Planned Parenthood location is the Charlotte Health Center. It is about 20 miles from your location. If transportation is no problem it could be a good option for you. Planned Parenthood offices offer reliable services for STD testing in a non judgemental environment.Testing includes bacterial vaginosis (BV), chlamydia, genital warts, gonorrhea, herpes, HIV (testing and diagnosis only), syphilis and trichomoniasis (trich).

Better Sexual Health in Gastonia, NC

The STD rates in your area and state are high so you should get information about STDs testing from a counsellor or nurse at an area school, Planned Parenthood office in Charlotte, or other facility such as an urgent care center or hospital. Remember also that the Gaston County Health Department can help you with STD testing.

STD testing is the only way to know for sure whether you have been affected by an STD and should get treatment for yourself and your partner. Remember too that an organization such as Planned Parenthood has staff trained to help you and remind you to never have unprotected sex.

Select and order your STD tests using the secure, online checkout, or by phone. If you're not sure what tests you need, dedicated certified Care Advisors can help. Call 1-800-671-4595, 6AM-10PM 7 DAYS A WEEK

Your certified care advisors will provide the lab order – you simply visit a participating lab at a time that's best for you. There's no appointment needed. It only takes one blood and/or urine sample and 15–30 minutes of your time.

Results are usually available in 3 business days or less† in your secure, online account. If treatment is needed, one of the onsite doctors will speak with you over the phone and prescribe medication if medically appropriate.

Peace of mind is just a click awayDon’t wait any longer than necessary to ﬁnd out the status of your sexual health. If your test results are positive, seeking treatment sooner can make all the difference.

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